Catherine A. MacKenzie

The Halifax Explosion was the result of the SS Imo, a Norwegian vessel, colliding with the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, in the Narrows of the Halifax Harbour on the morning of Thursday December 6, 1917, eleven months before the end of the First World War. The Mont-Blanc was carrying highly explosive picric acid, benzol, TNT and gun cotton. The exact number of dead and injured people in Dartmouth and Halifax is unknown. The cities bustled with wartime activity, and many people passed through, heading to one destination or another. It is impossible to know if all bodies were recovered or counted. In one interview from 1957, a man who helped make grave markers said more than 3,000 were needed. The confirmed deaths were 1,950. There were approximate 9,000 non-fatal injuries. More than 25,000 people were left homeless. The explosion went down in history as the largest man-made explosion of its time. On December 6, 2017, Nova Scotia will commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the Halifax Explosion. To pay tribute to the many victims, survivors and heroes who emerged from the disaster, Quarter Castle Publishing has gathered a collection of original fictional short stories connected to the Explosion. Stories are set immediately before it, during it or in its aftermath. The Nova Scotia authors who contributed stories are Sheila McDougall, Phil Yeats, Lawren Snodgrass, Catherine A. MacKenzie, Polly J. Brown, Diane Lynn McGyver, Cheryl Lynn Davis, Bronwen Piper, Barbara-Jean Moxsom, Liana Olive Quinn and Annemarie Hartnett.

This anthology of Nova Scotia authors is a collection of spirited prose and poetry written by a range of writers with diverse and intriguing backgrounds. Here you will find history, poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction by men and women who have been TV writers, animators, genealogists, teachers, playwrights, museum curators, scientists, and more. Many of these writers have travelled far and wide, but they have strong ties and a deep fondness for this province. Cover photography, front and back, by Judi Risser at https: //www.facebook.com/soulsearching.live/

A photo really is worth a thousand words. We at Silly Tree Anthologies challenged poets to write a poem based on the image of a wooden swing like the one that graces the cover of this book. We didn't want poems about swings though; we wanted poems about the feelings porch swings invoke, the memories they bring back and the heartache they conjure up. The poets did a wonderful job. We are sure you will agree once you read the work featured in this anthology. The poems will draw you in and pull at your heart strings. Please enjoy "The Way the Lights Slants," the third Silly Tree Anthology. Authors/Poets: June J. Austin, Beebe Barksdale-Bruner, Lorrie Barrier, Jinny Batterson, Wayne-Daniel Berard, Linda Beatrice, Joseph Burrows, Guy Burtenshaw, Jan Chronister, Rita Coleman, Vicki Collins, Sarah Cooper, Liz Dolan, Frederick K. Foote Jr., Eve Gaal, Jennifer Gibson, Mel Goldberg, J. M. Green, Francis Hicks, William D. Hicks, Mario Kersey, Alan Kemister, Brenda Kay Ledford, Shah Mankerian, Ashley Memory, Scott-Patrick Mitchell, Amy S. O'Hearn, Richard Pacheco, Carl "Papa" Palmer, Kathy L. Price, Wren Robin, J. E. Robinson, Mary C. Rowin, Wendy Schmidt, Marian Kaplun Shapiro, Jane Shlensky, Claude Clayton Smith, Olivia Stogner, Jill Story, Mary Vallo, Art White, Heather Wyatt